“Maybe it was himself he couldn’t trust,” Zack whispered, words cutting right through Pike’s tension.
“Maybe,” Pike allowed. “But he’s married now, couple of kids, and I heard through a mutual friend that he’s on some hookup app, looking for ‘discreet straight’ guys to jerk it with. Still hasn’t changed.”
“Some people can’t.” Zack’s voice was a bit harsher now.
“Some people won’t.” Pike took a vicious bite of his now cool pizza.
“So he’s why you don’t kiss straight guys?” Zack looked up at him, resignation in his eyes. And why that made Pike sad was something he refused to consider. “But you flirt with them.”
“What can I say?” Pike gave a bitter laugh. “I like showing people what they’re missing out on. But no, never doing a straight guy again.” He tilted his head, giving Zack a considering eye, wondering how hard to nudge here. “Closeted—sure, I wouldn’t like that, but I could cope for a short-term thing. And I’ve been with several bi or pan guys. But I’m not going to be a part of a lie someone tells themselves.”
Zack opened and closed his mouth several times, until Pike’s breath caught and he leaned forward, put a hand on Zack’s shoulder, trying to bolster him for saying whatever he needed to. Please stop lying to yourself. It’s killing me to watch. A little cough and then—
“Fair enough.” Zack nodded like that was the end of that, and Pike guessed it was. “Want to play something after we finish eating?”
Hello, friend zone, my old pal, how I’ve missed you never.
“Sure.” Pike shrugged, because really what else could he do? At least if they did a few raids together, he might feel less like tossing the pizza box and all Zack’s overtures of friendship through the window.
* * *
“Come on out,” Pike demanded, sweat dripping down his back. Stubborn, stubborn SEAL. “I can’t help if you stay in there.”
“Almost...there.” Zack gave a mighty heave and the stuck pantry door came flying at Pike. They’d been working in the kitchen since Zack had woken Pike at the crack of dawn. At least he’d had the decency to start the coffee before he’d come rattling Pike’s door. And if Pike had been in the middle of a distinctly unfriend-like dream about Zack, well, that was his own damn business.
In the dream, they’d been kissing again, this time in Pike’s bed, endless soft touches and deep kisses, and Pike still felt the tendrils of the dream licking at his senses hours later. An intractable hard-on wasn’t the most conducive to cabinet painting. By having them paint the cabinets, the senior chief was doing a cost-saving rehab fix Pike was well familiar with thanks to his mother. The older man’s relentlessly cheerful pregnant wife had dropped off all the supplies they needed earlier in the week. Hopefully by the end of the day, all the drab ‘70s oak would be glossy white. But removing the cabinet doors had proved tricky as they fought through decades of grime around the screws.
“Okay, now I’ll start cleaning the frames in here and you can start the doors out on the deck. Then after the cleaning, we can prime.” Zack didn’t even look at him as he gave the orders. The guy might be a rehab newbie, but he had decided opinions about letting Pike run the show. Indeed, he seemed incapable of not taking charge of things, whether it was cleaning up the pizza last night or building the bed or organizing the cabinet work today.
“I’m skinnier,” Pike countered, because hey, his experience mattered. Not that he needed to prove his worth to Zack or anyone else, but damn it, he was good at this. “I can get into the tight spots to do the frames easier, Muscles. And it’s harder to screw up the cabinet faces—it’s a good first painting project.”
Zack made a growling noise, opening his mouth to no doubt protest Pike’s assertion that he should do the easier job, but was cut off by a trilling cell phone.
“Fuck.” Zack pulled it out but made no move to answer it. “Sorry.”
“Ex?” Pike guessed, as Zack’s pained expression was the same one Pike made when a friend-who-wasn’t-anymore called.
“Don’t have one of those.” Zack held the phone like it might detonate at any moment. “It’s my mom. She’ll text in a second and then I can see what the deal is.”
Sure enough the phone beeped thirty seconds later. Zack’s tense face relaxed as he read whatever the message was. “Thank God,” he muttered.
“Problems?” Maybe it was nosy, but that had never stopped him before.
Zack sighed. “You have brothers or sisters?”
“Nope. Just me and my mom. She’s one of six, though, so lots of uncles and aunts and cousins.” Pike laughed. “But I unloaded my drama on you last night. Feel free to rant about your siblings.”